title: Hearing conservation program for marching band members: a risk for noise-induced hearing loss?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the risk for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in university marching band members and to provide an overview of a hearing conservation program for a marching band.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sound levels during band rehearsals were recorded and audiometric hearing thresholds and transient otoacoustic emission were measured over a 3-year period. Musician's earplugs and information about hearing loss were provided to the students. The hearing thresholds of other college students were tested as a partial control.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in hearing thresholds between the two groups. During initial testing, more marching band members showed apparent high-frequency notches than control students. Follow-up hearing tests in a subsequent year for the marching band members showed that almost all notches disappeared. Persistent standard threshold shift (STS) across tests was not observed in the band members.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Band members showed no evidence of STS or persistent notched audiograms. Because accepted procedures for measuring hearing showed a lack of precision in reliably detecting early NIHL in marching band members, it is recommended that signs of NIHL be sought in repeated measurements compared to baseline audiograms rather than in a single measure (a single notch). A hearing conservation program for this population is still recommended because of lengthy rehearsal times with high sound-level exposure during rehearsals.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas, Austin, USA. shjin@utexas.edu
authors.forename: Su-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Peggy B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Schlauch
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: hearing conservation; high-frequency notch; noise-induced hearing loss